Bell



June 1 1943- J. HENGSTLER BELL Filed June 24, 1942 2 Shets-Sheet 1 ..zmy M ad m 1H M 7. H d W V. B w

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. HENGSTLER BELL Filed June 24, 1942 June15,1943.

a awn I k 70 E Q Patented June 15, 1943 BELL John Hengstler, Altoona,Pa., assignor to The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Philadelphia, Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Application June 24, 1942, Serial No.448,218

4 claims. (or. 116150) 'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This inventionrelates to bells, and has reference more particularly to bells of thedownwardly-flaring type intended for use on locomotives.

Bells of the kind referred to are ordinarily cast from bell metal whichis costly by reason of the use of bronze and tin in its composition, andrequire machine finishing for accuracy of contour and attainment of thedesired tonal quality. 7

The aim of my invention is to make possible the production of bells ofsatisfactory timbre and resonance and of like shape from cheaper metalssuch as iron or steel, and at the same time obviate the necessity forthe heretofore required machining operations to finish them.

The foregoing objectives I realize in practice as hereinafter more fullydisclosed, in a compositebell structure whereof the body is made up of aplurality of suitably pre shaped interfitting sections which are diestamped or otherwise fashioned from plate iron or steel, andincidentally provided with beveled edges. These sections I assemble inthe proper relation, and then fill in the gutters or grooves jointlyformed by contiguous complemental edge bevels at the seams with fusedmetal of like kind, i. e., iron or steel. After the welding, the excessweld metal is first ground off at the seams and the bell body thereafterpressed in formingdies whereby it is accurately shaped to the desiredconfiguration and given a uniform cross section both longitudinally andperimetrically with a smooth surface finish throughout.

Other objects and attendant advantages will appear from the detaileddescription of the attached drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a view partly inelevation and partly in axial section, of a bell conveniently embodyingmy invention, with the bell clapper and a common type of locomotive bellsupport shown in dot and dash lines.

Fig. 2 shows the top plan View of the bell.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are perspective views of difierent components parts orsections from which the bell body is made up.

Fig. 6 is a detail cross section taken as indicated by the arrows VI--VIin Fig. 2 through one of the weld seams.

Fig. '7 is a view in cross section showing how the bell body is diepressed to final shape; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective View showing an alternative embodiment of myinvention.

With more specific reference, first more particularly to Figs. .1-6, itwill be observed that the body II] of my improved bell is generally "ofconical configuration with a flare II at the bottom and made up of anumber of parts or component sections I2, I5 and 2I which are separatelyillustrated in perspective in Figs. 2, 4 and '5. As shown, the sectionsI2, of which there are threein the present instance, have the form ofarcuate segments which taper upwardly to inter-fit one with another withtheir lateral edges abutting in vertical planes radial to the bell axis,and which are appropriately fashioned to jointly provide'the flare at II. The segments I2 are in practice preferably die stamped fromrelatively thick plate material which may be of iron or steel and whichis herein shown as being of uniform thickness. Either during the diestamping or by subsequent grinding, the side and top edges of thesegments are beveled off as at I3 and I4.

The section or component I5, see Fig. 4, is likewise fashioned fromstout sheet metal by die stamping or otherwise, and given the form of adisk whereofthe diameter corresponds to that of the circle jointlyconstituted by the top edges of the combined arcuate segments I2, seeFig. '1, and provided with an axial opening I6 whereof the edge isbeveled both from above and below as at I! and I8. The component I5 ismoreover rounded at its periphery as at I9 to form the shoulder of the.bell body and formed at the top around the axial opening I6 with a fiatboss 20 The section or component 2|, on the other hand, see Fig. 5, hasthe form of a nipple whereof the bottom portion is cylindric as at 22 tofit the axial hole I6 in the component I5, and whereof the top portionis upwardly tapered as at 23. The component 2| is preferably turned fromtubular stock, but-if found more convenient in practice, may be producedas a drop forging.

To assemble the several components, I employ a suitable jig totemporarily hold them in the relation shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and thenrun weld metal (like that used in the bell body) into the crevices orgrooves jointly formed by the complemental bevels at the contiguousedges of the components I2 as conventionally indicated at 25 in Figs. 1,2 and 6, into the crevices or grooves formed between the tops of saidcomponents and the periphery of the component as at 26, and also in thegrooves formed by the bevels between said component and the nipple as at21 and 28, as well as internally of the latter joint as at 29, with theresult that the several components are united into an integralstructure. With the immediately foregoing accomplished, I grind ofi theexcess weld metal at the several seams, and thereupon subject theassemblage to a die pressing operation in the manner illustrated in Fig.'7. As shown, complemental die members 30 and 31 of the press are soshaped as to give the bell body the desired final configuration, withassurance of uniformity, homogeneity and hardness asgbetween thethickness of the side components of the body and the joining seams, andwith the further assurance of smooth finished surfaces both extensivelyand intensively.

A bell constructed from plate steel as herein described is satisfactoryboth from the stand- 5 point of tonal quality and resonance for loc'omoftive use. It is to be understood, of course, that the annular or mainbody portion of my improved bell need not necessarily be of the samethickness throughout as shown, but may be graduated in the .verticalsection, 1. e., be progressively widened toward the. bottom, in a mannercharacteristic of cast bells. -The construction of the bell from hardiron or steel is further advantageous in that, it resists indentationand deformation by constant banging of the clapperin localized areas.This advantageis of prime importance in connection with locomotive bellswhere the clapper strikes as many as two hundred times a minute .underautomatic operation.

The clapper 32 of the bell is hung as ordinarily, and as shown indot-and-dash lines in Fig. 1, from a transverse pivot bolt 33 in asupporting member 34 whereofthe diametrically reduced shank 35 extendsup through the axial bore of the nipple component 2! and is provided atthe top with a securing nut 36. At 31', the member 34. provides thecylinder for the pneumatic clapper actuating mechanism which may be ofany approved or well known design, and which for this reason has beenomitted from the drawings.

, The supporting yoke 38 for the bell may also be of standard designwith trunnions 39 extending through fixed bearings 40, and with a ver-'tical' axis boss 4! having a tapered bore to receive'the nipple 2|,against which the shoulder 20 at the top of the bell abuts; The securingnut'36, it will be noted, bears on the top 'of'the yoke boss 4! andserves to keepthe nipple 2| of the bell body drawn up tight. As aconseduence of this construction, the bell can be arranged either forautomatic operation through and correspondingly reducing labor costs.

movement of the clapper 32 alone by the pneumatic means, or for handoperation in which latter case the bell as a whole is swung on thetrunnion pivots 39 from the engineers cab of the locomotive by means ofan attached operating cord, not shownal1 in a manner well understood.

Fig. 8 shows a modification in which the segmental side components. 12aof the bell are extended and curved inwardly at their tops as at 42 tojointly provide the shoulder of the bell body. This construction is ofadvantage in that an additional part (to wit the component 15 of thefirst described form of my invention) is dispensed with, therebysimplifying manufacture In all other aspects, the modified constructionmay be like thatshown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

-1.' A built up bell according to claim 4, whereinthe contiguousabutting edges of the side segments are complementarily beveled, andpermanently united by weld metal filling the grooves formed jointly bythe beveling at the seams. '2. A bell according to claim 4, wherein theshoulder portion has an axial hole; and further including a metallicnipple section which fits into the hole of said crosswise component andwhich is welded to the latter along the region of mutual abutment. 3. Abell according to claim 4, wherein the shoulder portion has an axialhole whereof the bottom and top'edges are oppositely beveled; andfurther including a metallic nipple component which fits into the holeof said crosswise section, and which is secured by weld metal run intothe grooves formed by the beveling along the region of mutual contact.

4. A locomotive bell having a downwardlyflaring body portion of truecircular horizontal cross section throughout, composed of at least threesimilar regular trapeziform segments of relatively heavyuniform-thickness plate steel, said sections abutting side-edgewisethroughout their lengths and being united along the regions of mutualabutment by flush-weld seams equal in thickness to the metal of thesegments; and a circular shoulder portion of plate steel thicker thanthat of the side segments with its periphery abutting the arcuate topedges of said segments and flush welded to the latter along the regionsof mutual abutment.

1 I JOHN HENGS'ILER.

